PEOPLE PROFILE

Sharon Gerber recently joined the Auckland Cranes family as the HSE Manager, bringing with her a wealth of knowledge and experience from her time in the resources industry. We caught up with Sharon to learn more about why health and safety is close to her heart, and how to foster a sustainable safety culture.

I knew from a very young age that I wanted to protect people in the workforce, however as a young lady, fresh out of school, I had a mentor assigned to me who encouraged me to go into a field that was more suitable for a “lady”, so I studied Management Accounting. After completing my studies in management, my professional journey started at a Steel Manufacturing company in South Africa which was home to approximately 1500 employees. My interest in risk management did not subside and I somehow managed to undertake various HSE courses and eventually landed a role as a Junior Safety Professional within the organisation.

HSE Manager, Auckland Cranes

During my 10 years in the Steel Industry, my career grew as I gained experience and was promoted from a Junior Safety Professional to a Lead ISO Auditor across the sister companies, primarily focusing on Safety and Quality. In 2008, an opportunity not to be missed arose within BHP Billiton. This opportunity offered construction experience on a mining optimisation project that would house 7500 contractors. During my 8 years in BHP Billiton, I not only gained significant construction experience, but also obtained a Degree in Safety Management and focused largely on Safety and Business Risk Management.

In 2016 I took up an opportunity at a Chrome Mine, as a SHEQ Manager where I was also elected as a spokesperson for Women in Mining for the North West Region. At the end

of 2018, my family and I decided to move to New Zealand where my first role was at a Logistics Company. With the experience I gained in the construction world and my appetite for high risk work, I was delighted to get a job at Auckland Cranes at the end of 2019 as the HSE Manager. The implementation of the Group Safety Framework has been a massive focus point for me since joining.

Going forward I hope to further influence a culture that has a natural ability to proactively identify risk and mitigate it accordingly.

Competency and experience play an imperative role in the risk evaluation process, especially in the crane industry. Ensuring the younger generation are motivated to join the crane industry and that they go through the correct channels to obtain quality training and experience should always remain a focus point.

This is a topic dear to my heart that I have remained silent on for many years until recently. As a family of five, our lives were turned upside down when my father was fatally injured in a work-related accident. I remember the sorrow I felt for my family, the managers of the company and the people involved during a very long and draining investigation process after the accident. I had no doubt in my mind from a very early age that I wanted to be part of a system that influences people to work safely, not only to protect themselves but also to protect the company as an entire entity.

I believe that a sustainable safety culture is led from the top down, owned and driven by the leaders of the organisation. I also believe that a safety system is imbedded in all other functions of the organisation, hence I do not believe in safety first, I believe in safe operations.